Michigan goal -- score a victory

June 18, 2006|BOB OPPENHEIM Tribune Staff Writer

The Michigan boys soccer team isn't treating the Sports Fest games like an exhibition. "It's going to be fun, but I'm very competitive and I'm sure the same goes for 18-year-old boys," said Michigan boys soccer coach Shawn Beach. "We'll try our best to win. I'm sure the other teams will be taking it seriously, so we'll play as hard as we can and see what happens." Beach will get the opportunity to coach two of his players at River Valley. Ian Liess and Caleb Dryden will be representing the Mustangs. Liess had 24 goals and 12 assists this past season for River Valley. Dryden added 14 goals and 12 assists. Lakeland Conference champion Bridgman has Matt Carlson, Jason Delbosque and Peter Merrick on the squad. Brandywine has two representatives in Matt Wieger and Kyle Perry. District champion Dowagiac and St. Joseph are also well represented on the all-star squad. Chieftains making the team are Brian Edgerly, Pat Brosnan, Aaron Wilson and Freddy Soto. St. Joseph's four representatives are Ryan Berry, Steven Dahn, Nick Lafond and Chris Wagner. Rounding out the team are the Niles duo of Colin Smith and Jarrad Rockafellow, Lakeshore's Billy Marx and Austin Bock, along with Buchanan's Andrew Gordon. "There's a good amount of kids that are in my conference, so I know a lot about them," Beach said. "It's going to be a lot of fun to be able to coach them. "For some of the bigger schools, like St. Joseph, I've seen a lot about the kids in the paper and that they come from good programs. "I know there's a lot of talent and it's just a matter of finding positions for them to play. It will be a fun experience." Beach was asked if he was looking forward to coaching any one player on the team who he has watched or heard about. "I'm looking forward to coaching Brian Edgerly from Dowagiac," Beach said. "It's also going to be fun one last time coaching a couple of my seniors -- Ian Liess and Caleb Dryden. There's just a bunch of players that I've heard good things about." Staff writer Bob Oppenheim: roppenheim@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6151